Images: ©Jouko Lehmuskallio
Wood Cow-wheat
Melampyrum nemorosum
- Family: Figwort Family – Scrophulariaceae
- Growing form: Annual herb. Hemiparasite.
- Height: 20–40 cm (8–16 in.). Stem much-branched, softly-haired.
- Flower: Irregular (zygomorphic), 15–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in.) long. Petals 4, united, bright yellow, corolla bilabiate, with curved tube. Sepals 4, united, woolly. Stamen 4. Pistil formed from 2 fused carpels. Lower pairs of flowers separate, upper as a one-sided terminal spike.
- Leaves: Opposite. Stalkless or short-stalked, blade elliptic to lanceolate, base of upper leaves lobed or toothed. Upper flowers with usu. violet, sometimes yellowish-white subtending bracts.
- Fruit: An oval capsule.
- Habitat: Damp forests, broadleaf woods, scrub, hillside meadows. Also an ornamental.
- Flowering time: June–July.
The wood cow-wheat is easily identified. Its yellow flowers and violet upper leaves are somewhat reminiscent of the colours of the flag of Sweden, and the species is also called “svenska flaggan” (Swedish flag).
The wood cow-wheat is a hemiparasite. It absorbs nutrients from the roots of nearby plants. The occurrences on the coast and the inland occurrences in Central Finland probably originate from intentional sowing. The wood cow-wheat is a species of broadleaf woods and sloping meadows. This species often turns blackish on drying.
On the southwest Finland’s islands there are two other Melampyrum species that somewhat resemble the wood cow-wheat: The crested cow-wheat (M. cristatum) and the field cow-wheat (M. arvense). Both are quite rare and the first is an endangered and the latter a protected species.